Blue Guitars is a Blues album released by Chris Rea on October 14th 2005 consisting of eleven CDs, one DVD and a full colour book, including paintings by the artist, liner notes and song lyrics.

The album is an ambitious project with the 137 songs recorded over the course of 1 1/2 years with a work schedule - according to Chris Rea himself - of twelve hours a day, seven days a week.

The collection is the fifth and last release in a line of Blues recordings Chris Rea has made since recovering from a serious disease at the turn of the millennium and promising himself a return to his Bluesy roots in the event that he survived.

According to Rea "Blue Guitars" will be his last solo effort; however, he will continue to release albums as a member of the band "Memphis Fireflies".

Albums

The eleven separate records which comprise "Blue Guitars" could as well stand on their own; in combination, however, they provide a journey through the different epochs of the Blues, showing the various components that have been added to the original African Blues over time, the changes in instrumentation, style, lyrical expression and thematic implications.

Thereby Chris Rea and his band imitate the various styles and lyrical topics, creating an instantly recognisable atmosphere on each record, with the first few songs usually setting up the direction in which the record is going and then developing to various styles within the field of each record.
__________

Album Number Five - Texas Blues _______________________________

And yet another direction, the Blues was morphing into. Take the basic concept, move it into the "modern wild west" and what you get out of it is straightforward
Texas Blues.

It's all in there, endless highways, run-down trucker bars, oil, dirt, cowboy boots, stories about life on the move, all down in Texas, all just as sad as the original Blues (Lone Star Boogie, No Wheels Blues). The mixture of the basic Blues concept with more country and western styled instruments (slide guitars, harmonica) gave the Blues a rawer, yet again still instantly recognizable sound, which has played a major role in music ever since - go Stevie Vaughan and ZZ Top!!

I still remember, the place we used to go, dreaming dreams of Texas, as we pushed hard through the snow" - Chris Rea
__________